Considering the bans on public smoking that have swept the nation, I feel as though a similar ban should be placed on extremely heavy perfumes.

My reasons are thus:

1) Many people are allergic, and can suffer health risks as a result of exposure to heavy perfumes in enclosed spaces.

2) It is extremely unpleasant, especially in restaurants when someone is wearing perfume so thick that you can literally taste the air.

3) It shows a gross level of inconsideration for both of the previous cases. Like cursing in front of children, or indecent exposure, the wearing of extremely heavy perfumes should be considered a rude, uncouth act.

If we as a society are going to continually augment our smoking bans, we should also consider other, similar offenses to public air space.

Thank you for the debate, first of all. This'll be my first debate as well, on the site and otherwise--unless you consider comment-type deals a debate and I really don't. Here's to a good debate and hoping we both learn a lot.

Unfortunately, you haven't made much of a case. I'll get into what's specifically the problem, but I'll remind you that you have burden of proof and need to prove point one. If you can be more specific about what this health problem is--because at the end of the day you are trying to convince me and the voters that there is a problem that warrants taking personal liberties--you might have an argument.

Response to point 1:
How many people are allergic? 100 out of all Americans? 50% of Americans?

What health risks? They need to be serious enough to get the law involved.

How close must the exposure be? If you have to be a foot away from a person wearing extremely heavy perfume to be harmed, and exposed to it every day, that is a far cry from a small amount of exposure a good distance away killing someone.

If it is a serious enough problem to warrant making it illegal, can you give me a compelling reason why the manufacturers can't use an ingredient that doesn't harm those allergic to it?

Finally, you've failed to provide any proof whatsoever to back up your claim that "many people are allergic and can suffer health risks..." etc etc. Since a third of your argument rests on this being true, you should probably back this up.

Not to mention the comparison here is weak at best. You're comparing extremely heavy perfumes to smoking. However, there is a much stronger case to be made for making smoking illegal that cannot be made for extremely heavy perfume. The reason for making smoking illegal is that it presents health problems for everyone exposed to it--everyone--especially children.

I quote the Surgeon General: http://www.nlm.nih.gov...
"There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke: even small amounts of secondhand smoke exposure can be harmful to people's health."

"A smoke-free environment is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke."

Can you honestly say the same of perfume? Even if it does represent serious risks for those allergic to extremely heavy perfume at far distances, it cannot compare to something that harms everyone at any level.

Response to point 2:
Why should extreme unpleasantness mean something should be illegal? It is not illegal to smell foul, dress in bad taste, be Republican (just kidding!), allow children to run around irritating everyone, etc. It's possible there's legal precedent set for this but you'll have to prove it--and that does not make it right. Even then, it is one thing to ban something that everyone finds unpleasant and it's another to ban something that a single person does that is unpleasant. Personal liberties are harmed in the second scenario and not in the first.

Response to point 3:
Cursing in front of children is not illegal, neither is rudeness and it never has been.

Conclusion:
I encourage you to prove your claims in point one, and to make a compelling case for why personal liberties should be surrendered to keep from irritating people.

Life is busy and takes precedence over internet business, so I hope all is going well with my opponent and I look forward to his rebuttal in the next round. I'll simply add that wherever there is not significant reason for infringing on personal liberties, personal freedom should be unrestrained.